Swizz Beatz, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, & The Lox Pay Tribute to DMX at BET Awards
Long live X.
Less than three months after his death, DMX was honored with a special tribute at the 2021 BET Awards on Sunday (June 27). Method Man, alongside X’s Ruff Ryders family, kicked off the five-minute performance with an a cappella version of “Get at Me Dog” before Griselda’s Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, and Conway the Machine hit the stage to perform their DMX collaboration “Hood Blues” off DMX’s posthumous album Exodus mixed with “Where the Hood At?”
As DMX’s family members looked on, Michael K. Williams channeled the Yonkers legend while reciting lyrics from his classic “Slippin’.” “I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’, I can’t get up,” said “The Wire” actor.
DMX’s fellow Ruff Ryders including Swizz Beatz and The Lox’s Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch then emerged for “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” before Busta Rhymes set it off with “Party Up (Up In Here),” ending with a prayer from X himself as the crowd at L.A’s Microsoft Theater held their Xs in the air.
In April, the rap icon passed away at the age of 50 after suffering a heart attack. DMX’s posthumous album Exodus was released last month featuring JAY-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, Usher, and Snoop Dogg.
Watch the touching tribute below.